"I am Still Learning " – Michelangelo

5 Tips for a More Productive 2017

About this time every year I begin to evaluate myself and see where I stand in the reaching of goals for the current year. Self-Evaluation is something I tend to do a lot of (maybe too much of at times). This is something that doesn’t have to be done at the end of or beginning of each year. But, I do find that these tend to be good times to delve a little deeper into ourselves and reflect on where we’ve been and where we our trying to go and how we can make our actions align. For me, this year has been great in a lot of ways and in many ways it has been a disaster. I started out with some very clear goals and was very enthusiastic about achieving them. some of them I have accomplished some haven’t worked out. In this post I would just like to highlight some of the factors that I have learned can make all the difference in failure and good success.

1. You have to really, really want it.

Setting goals is only the start. Accomplishing quality goals requires dedication and hard work. At the end of the day, if there is no zeal and unrelenting desire it is unlikely you will do what it takes to reach your biggest goals.when setting goals make sure they are based on what you really need to be happy and fulfilled and you’re not just setting goals based on trends and the pursuits of others make them personal and specific to your wants and needs. Your goals should remain on the front burner, they should always be on your mind. They should create a drive that won’t let up. If this isn’t the case, go back to the drawing board and figure out whether it is what you really need or whether it fits in God’s plan for you. Sometimes we give the wants too much power when the success really comes, most times, when we focus on the needs. What we really, really want has to be developed in our hearts and our minds as a need.

2. Procrastination Strangles Goals

If you want to watch something die a slow agonizing death. Pair your dreams and goals with procrastination. I’m going to get started: “As soon as I finish this show”, I ‘ve been working all day I deserve a break”, “I’ll do it first thing in the morning”, “I need to check what’s on Facebook (for the umpteenth time)”,”I’ll have plenty of time this weekend”, “I’ll start fresh on Monday”. Does any of this sound familiar? Procrastination has to be dealt with. I mean you literally have to take procrastination out back and beat the living daylights out of it. Make it a point to spot this trait and conquer it every single day. Anytime you think to do something to get you closer to accomplishing your goals and the”it can wait” alternative pops into your head, make it a point to do whatever it is you were thinking about doing right then. Don’t delay for a second. Don’t use the restroom first. Don’t have a drink of water. Just get it done right then. Procrastination is a debilitating disease that mustn’t be tolerated if greatness is what you are after.

3. Research Has To = Action

Spending too much time in research can really be seen as a wolf in sheep’s clothing (the wolf being procrastination), but I still would like to deal with it as a separate point. Research is not the only part of the equation, you must do. I have come to realize, many times I get caught up in this trap of thinking I need to know just a little bit more before I get started. I spend tons and tons of time researching. When you start something you aren’t going to be perfect. We need to focus more attention on learning through doing. It is great to live in times where we can find pretty much any information we would like to find and we can see the experiences and teachings of so many others without leaving our homes. But let’s not make effective tools a crutch. Let’s make it a goal to do our research but with every morsel of knowledge gained, Let’s quickly marry it to a deliberate action.

4. Don’t Forsake Your Soul and Your Family

We shouldn’t trade our spiritual well being and our families for what we feel is success. I truly believe success is possible without losing sight of what’s really important. It is a fact, depending on where you are in life this can be extremely difficult. Many of us have wives, husbands, children, parents and significant others who require our love, care and attention. We must keep their happiness and needs in mind as we work towards our goals. I also truly believe that when we first, solidify our spiritual foundation things begin to fall into place and we are better able to choose and define needs and goals that are right for us as individuals. We must remember to maintain balance and we mustn’t get to the point where everything and everyone is disposable in the pursuit of our goals.

“What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and lose his soul.” Mark 8:36.

5. Make Time

Time is one of the most crucial factors in the accomplishing of goals. There is only so much of it in a day. It has to be used wisely. Every single second has to count. You can very easily evaluate how important something really is to you by the amount of time you spend on it. I have realized that with a wife and three children. If I want to reach the goals I’ve set. I’m going to need to do so much better in this area. when I really think about it there is plenty of time to do what needs to be done. We just have to want it bad enough to get up earlier or go to sleep later. We have to recognize when we are trading quality time for “sofa time”. We have to want to show our Love enough to play that card game with the kids instead of looking at the phone. We have to care about our partners feelings enough to ask how is your day instead of going straight to the notebook and getting to work. Take the time to journal every minute of your time for a week and for most of us we will find that there is a lot of room for improvement. After journaling for a week begin to set a schedule for every minute of the next week. Let me say this, your schedule will not always go as planned (especially with a wife/husband and kids or any other responsibilities for that matter). You can not put you and your schedule on an island within your household. Make your schedule visible to your spouse so everyone can be on the same page. If something is cancelled or you end up with bonus time don’t use it for procrastination, spend quality time with your family or take care of another scheduled event early. If you do this, most times you will be able to get more than what you planned for the day or week done. If you have big goals and a family you are going to have to know that sometimes you are going to feel tired. sometimes you are going to want to plop down and do nothing for hours. If that is what you want to do that’s fine. Just know it is not a good recipe for success unless doing nothing is your goal. Not everyone has to or wants to own their own business or conquer some seemingly insurmountable task. Some people just want to live life simply and peacefully and that is perfectly fine. We can save ourselves a lot of unnecessary pain and stress if we know the difference.

Success is a learning experience and I am so glad that we as people have the opportunity to grow. Although, In many ways I feel like there was a lot I didn’t get done in 2016. I do know there was a lot I did get done and I have grown in immeasurable ways. I could have very easily not been alive to write this post. I am thankful for the opportunity to have more time to get it right and to have the chance to share some of what I believe I know with you. If you have made it to this point in the post, Thanks for sticking around and I pray that it helps you. Til Next Time…

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